Once “Celebration Rock” had gained an audience in Central Virginia, I got a few calls to do “voice work.” It all started in the early 1970’s when a minister friend of mine ran for Richmond City Council. Jim Carpenter was the white pastor of an African-American church in the city, and as a mild-mannered social activist, Jim knew he could help effect needed change if he had a voice in city government. Jim had a friend who ran a small Richmond ad agency, and when I told Jim I’d contribute my voice to help him get elected, he knew that would save a few bucks. No use paying someone to voice his radio spots if I’d do it free.
This was a first for me. Though I had worked at the old WRFK and had been producing my religious public service programs, I hadn’t done anything in the way of commercial radio, and I hadn’t worked with a professional ad agency. The agency wrote the Carpenter spots, and I did the voice work. I don’t recall going to a recording studio for that session, so I think we may have done the spots simply using a tape recorder somewhere. Because Jim and I were both Presbyterian ministers, and because Jim’s views were no doubt shared by most of the people in the Presbytery hierarchy, no one questioned whether my participation was appropriate.
But that wasn’t the case with my next political campaign spot for the same agency. The ad man called me about voicing a spot for another Democratic candidate, this time for state office. I was, well, flattered, and this time I would be paid. Once the spot aired, however, I was chagrined to hear from my Presbytery colleagues that the candidate in question was part of the old Virginia segregationist political establishment. New to Virginia, and clueless about local politics, I had not done my homework and had helped elect that long-time cog in the old Democratic machine.
From that point on, I determined to stay away from political ads, unless I knew the candidate personally and wanted to contribute in-kind support through voice work. (One of my last voice jobs in Vermont was an ad for a Republican candidate who was a member of my church. He paid me for my work: the gift of the microphone we used to record the spot in my living room.)
During my many years in Richmond, I did some commercial work for a bank or two, and for S&K Clothing. (Ah, yes; the “Shirt, Tie, and Socks” box for Father’s Day.) I also did narration work for Commonwealth Films and for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. One of my mission video jobs there was to be the translator’s voice, speaking over a Russian Baptist’s comments. I thought it might be cool to put on a heavy Russian accent as I “translated,” but I was the only one who thought that! The media folk at the Foreign Mission Board were quite a bit more liberal than the denomination itself, so I always felt comfortable in their well-equipped studio facilities, and as I drew nice little paychecks from them.
In addition to that audio work, I also got involved in public TV pledge drives in both Central Virginia and in Vermont. In Virginia especially, that volunteer work on camera led to some paid voice work doing narration, or hosting public television specials. I also was substitute “emcee” for WCVE’s high school “Battle of the Brains” quiz show. That was great fun, though I was very nervous to host live TV.
When I moved to Vermont, I left media ministry behind, but I did host public TV “festivals” (pledge drives) in Burlington as a volunteer. It paid off the first night I was on-camera. Someone called the station and asked if “that guy” does any voice work. That led to a few opportunities to do commercials and narrations, including something new for me: voice work for CR-ROM and web sites. Two favorites were 1) recording voice tracks for IBM products in a small Vermont barn that had been converted into a high-tech audio facility, and 2) voicing radio commercials for the Merchant’s Bank chain in Vermont. For some of the bank commercials I played the husband in some cleverly written husband/wife banter scripts by Peter Wilder. Introducing my radio ad wife to my real wife in a super market line one day was great fun, especially for the cashier.
I was fortunate to work in non-union locales, where I was free to take whatever work was offered. The extra money was always helpful, though I never knew how much to charge for voice work. When asked, all I could do was say, “What’s the ‘going rate?’ That’s fine with me.” Seemed to me it was more than fair to do an hour’s work and walk away with $150. I appreciated what the late CBS/ABC newsman Harry Reasoner said about his TV anchor job. It was something like, “Basically all I do is try to read the news without stumbling too much.” I didn’t usually read perfectly, but the engineers were always able to rescue me from my stumbling miscues. And the experiences I had in the world of commercial audio recording contributed to a sense of professionalism in my church media work. It was sometimes a stretch but often enlightening to be in someone else’s shop taking direction from professionals.
I must add that I did set some boundaries in the world of voice work. After that initial stumble with an ad for a political candidate I never would have voted for, I never accepted an assignment that would be personally embarrassing to me or to the church agencies for which I worked. I never had to scream a car ad or announce a fake medical breakthrough. Then again, I did sound more excited about some public TV mugs and tee shirts than they merited…
For the past six years, my voice hasn’t been broadcast any further than the church P.A. Now in retirement, I’m keeping open to some new opportunities. Let me know if you want to run for something.
